1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally systems and methods that improve energy management, and more particularly to systems and methods for the utility market.
2. Description of the Related Art
The modern electric power grid begins as the primary circuit leaves the generating sub-station, is transported via transmission line, distributed via distribution feeders, and ends as the secondary service enters the customers meter socket. This invention relates to the management of the transmission system, from a control center, which purpose is to maintain all equipment within operating limits and to ensure the provision of electricity at a reliability rate greater than 99.999%.
To manage the grid, electric utilities rely on Energy Management Systems (EMS) which are mission critical information system that collect data from the field and can control protection devices from the control center via a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system (SCADA).
The EMS are more sophisticated today with advanced algorithms and increasing volume of data coming from smarter grids that are equipped with intelligent electronic devices (IED).
However, intelligent grids and sophisticate power system algorithms that process field data will not suffice to prevent human errors in control centers. Operators continuously train to adapt to new system conditions and react to emergency situations. This general aptitude to master complex information and make correct decisions is referred to as “situation awareness”.
Catastrophic failures of a power system are relatively uncommon, but they are spectacular when they happen. Twenty-five million people in the northeastern United States lost electric power for 12 hours in 1965. Another blackout shut down New York City for several days in 1977. And in 2003, the largest power failure in North American history left 40 million people in an area in the United States stretching from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey west to Ohio and Michigan, and 10 million people in eastern Canada, without power. The lack of adequate situational awareness at multiple levels was one of the root causes of the Aug. 14, 2003 massive power blackout in North America.
Designing tools for adequate Situation Awareness (SA) includes that the following factors be kept in mind: so-called “enemies of situational awareness”: attention tunneling, requisite memory trap; data overload; misplaced salience; complexity creep, errant mental models, out-of-the-loop syndrome; workload, anxiety, fatigue, and other stress factors.
There is a need for systems that enable operators to assess potentially compromising situations of a utility company. There is a further need for systems that enable operators to assess potentially compromising situations of a utility company by dynamically creating their own dashboards.